Monday, April 16, 2007

OBX Spring Trip

Greetings, it's been a while since my last post. I've been very busy with a lot of different things between work, family, etc. But we just got back from our spring Outer Banks trip to Hatteras Island. My family and I stayed a week in one of the Island Creek houses in Avon. The usual windsurfing crew suspects (Rob, Mark, and Todd) stayed in another house close by. The week started out with a chill...so much so that it actually snowed on the drive down and the first 2 days of sailing in 47 degree air temps led to very cold hands forcing me to wear the dreaded "glacier" gloves. But as the week wore on, it did get warmer with last Thursday reaching a high in the low 70s and sunny. We sailed 5 days out of 7 that included a couple of awesome 20-25kt days on smaller sails/boards.

I got to spend some great quality time with the family with walks to the beach, eating out (at The Mad Crabber, The Pickled Steamer - get the Blackened Tuna Flat Top, and The Top Dog Cafe...all were great once again...regular stops for us), a lazy day trip to Ocracoke Island, a visit to the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, and just plain hanging out at the house by the water.

Another highlight of the week was hanging out with the legendary Jim Drake, largely credited with being the modern inventor of windsurfing. He was staying in a house down the street with his family and gave a talk one night at the newly relocated SailWorld shop. Check out the photo of us with Jim (l to r: Mark, Rob, Jim, Todd, and Mac). Look out for more on Jim in a future post as I have gotten to know him in the last few years and I have a great story to tell. I also tried out my new Oregon Scientific ATC2K water proof camera that can be attached on a helmet, boom, or held in the hand. Check out the short clip. Its not the best quality but works pretty good for some cool footage. I'll be working on a longer, more complete video from our trip with music soon and will post it when ready.

The other pics are of me windsurfing (thanks for taking the pics Mark) and of a lone sailor at sunset. I'll post many more pics in the online photo album soon...keep checking back.

Hatteras Island is a completely different state of mind. Its a great place to disconnect from the hectic pace of life - work, the kids' hectic weekly activities and practices, etc. You can completely lose yourself there, as you can just windsurfing. I'll be back there soon.

WaterTurtle = a nickname some of my friends gave me when we were learning to waterski over 20 years ago because I loved being in the water so much...and still do.
I love to windsurf first and foremost, but I also love mountain biking, stand up paddle boarding/surfing, and snow skiing. I enjoy other outdoor activities such as hiking, kayaking, sailing/boating, the occasional Panthers or Cubs ballgame and NASCAR race, etc. I am a husband and father to three kids, plus I have a demanding job in the tech field. This keeps me very busy as it is, but once in a while, I do get outdoors to enjoy a great adventure either in the water or on land. I hope you enjoy my online journal of outdoor adventure. Check out the videos, posts, pictures, and other web sites linked from this page.